The long-awaited draft law establishing the Investment Charter was adopted by the House of Councilors on Tuesday, November 29. For Mohcine Jazouli, Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Convergence, and Evaluation of Public Policies, this Charter is a “transparent, attractive, competitive, and clear legal framework in terms of investment”. Speaking during a meeting with the press, held in Casablanca, the Minister emphasized the paradigm shift in terms of investment policy. After a period marked by the predominance of public investment, which “was justified by the need in particular for infrastructure, it is time to unlock the potential of the private sector. In this approach, public investment will be stabilized. It will not be diminished, but whenever the private sector can take charge of projects serving citizens, we will encourage it to do so by the means of agreements” , noted the minister, who insisted on the fact that “the public sector must not compete with the private sector”.
Today, the new Investment Charter constitutes “legislation that serves as a reference, and one which stands above contingencies and technical mechanisms”, said Minister Jazouli. The idea is to overcome the obstacles identified in the old legislation, in particular because of the inclusion of all the details in the law. In the new vision, in addition to the general framework laid down by law, it is the implementing decrees that will define the details of the modus operandi. The first implementing decree is expected “before the end of the year” , announced the minister. In addition to this decree on the operationalization of the new system, another decree will be published within six months, including measures relating to Moroccan direct investment abroad. The third piece of legislation, expected within a year, will deal with Very Small and Medium Enterprises. Overall, the new system aims to achieve the goal of mobilizing private investment of 550 billion Dirhams (55 billion USD) and creating 500,000 jobs between 2022 and 2026. Several mechanisms are planned to promote the revitalization of private investment. These mechanisms revolve around three major components, the first one being the investment bonuses, limited to 30% of the value of a given project. Other types of bonuses are planned, in particular for employment, innovation, territorial bonuses, sectoral bonuses, and other bonuses.
M.A.M.
